Following two months of dismal growth, the February jobs report suggests an improving labor landscape. But despite the numbers, the employment picture remains cloudy at best.

The Labor Department reported today (Friday) that employers added 175,000 jobs last month, beating expectations of 150,000. Yet the February figure is still well below the 280,000 jobs created in the same month a year ago.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.7% from the five-year low of 6.6% hit in January, as more people entered the workforce and failed to find work. Economists were expecting the rate to remain stable at 6.6%.

Economists were anticipating slow job creation due to the harsh winter weather that blanketed much of the country in February. Ice and snow are frequently responsible for flight cancellations and business closings, and bitter cold can also keep consumers inside, pressuring retail hiring.

Indeed, a total of 6.9 million full-time workers reported having hours temporarily reduced due to February's brutal weather.

Friday's jobs report may be better than the last two – but it's still far from good.

"It's just a steady-as-she-goes recovery." Justin Wolfers, senior fellow at the nonprofit think tank the Brookings Institution, wrote on Twitter. "Not fast enough, but not easy to derail."

Following are highlights from the Labor Department's report.

Key Takeaways from the February Jobs Report

The private sector added 162,000 net new jobs last month. More than half those gains were in industries that pay the least, a notable trend for several months now and one that doesn't bode well for wage growth.

They can not afford to raise the 10-year rate or the short term interest rates very much for fear the payments on the U.S. Debt of $18 Trillion would balloon to $900 Million dollars per year and force massive spending cuts where they can be effected ( discretionary non-entitlement such as Defense). Short term rates ( 5-year) and 10-year rates are already on the way back up. The market, not the FED, has the final say so. That is in fact what President Obama is already doing with his budget proposal.

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